We Review the Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Full Frame Camera

The new Canon EOS R8 mirrorless camera can be considered the replacement of the older EOS R and EOS RP cameras. It promises to be a great camera at a reasonable price point. Canon Netherlands sends me this camera for a review. Let's find out how it performs.

Interview with Stu Thomson | Director of Latest Danny Macaskill Video "The Ridge"

Trials cyclist Danny Macaskill released a new video featuring a ride through unthinkable terrain in his homeland of Scotland. The daring exploit took place on the Cuillin Ridge in the Isle of Skye, where the spectacular scenery alone is worth the price of admission. The beauty of the Scottish landscape, mixed with the technical and dangerous mountain bike riding is absolutely thrilling to watch. The pinnacle shot, where Danny climbs up a ridge with bike in tow, closes the film and solidifies Danny as a death defying badass. We reached out to the director of the film, Stu Thomson, to ask a few questions about the making of this project.

Survey of Wedding Photographers Shows Taking Pictures Accounts for Only 4% of Their Time

Stats from an annual survey conducted with over 300 professional wedding photographers have seemingly revealed that as little as 4% of their business time is spent taking photos. Pressing the shutter button is eclipsed by tasks such as emailing and organizing ahead of the big day, culling pictures, editing and retouching, as well as other business administration.

How Wide Should Landscape Lenses Be?

When we ask people about what lens to get for landscape photography, we often get advised to get a wide-angle lens. But how wide do you need these lenses to be?

The Key to Becoming a Great Photographer Is Patience

Nothing happens overnight, and this is especially true when it comes to photography. Photography is a craft that takes years to master, which is one reason why there are few people that become successful. So many people pick up a camera and expect their careers to take off the next day, which isn’t realistic. In order to become great, you must first become patient. Don’t compete against the clock, success will happen in its own time. Slow and steady wins the race. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you are feeling impatient with your work.

A Missed Opportunity or the Dawn of a New Age? Nikon's NX MobileAir App

Transferring images from the camera to the customer is a complex process that — depending upon your genre — will require a greater or lesser number of intermediate steps. Irrespective of who you are delivering to, you need to get photos off your camera, and this is where the fun and games start. Nikon has released NX MobileAir as another solution to fix the problem. Has it missed a beat or taken a bold step forward?

Take an Emotional Journey Through Time with Photographer's Amazing "Past and Present" Project

Three years ago, Photographer Christian Carollo came upon his grandfather's travel photography from across the United States. The initial spark for the "Past and Present" Project started with a particular image of the small coastal town of Winchester Bay, Oregon. Christian wondered if he could replicate the image and he succeeded. This was the start of an epic and awe-inspiring project now known as the Past and Present Project. Christian has traveled all over the United States, continuing to replicate his grandfather's images. The results are breathtaking and have re-inspired in me the true emotional potential a single image can have.

5 Not-So-Easy Upgrades DSLR Makers Could Make That Would Make This Photographer Very Happy

DSLR makers have developed a rather interesting propensity to focus their R&D budgets on creating the fanciest, most marketable sensors possible. A camera, however, isn't just limited to the scope of its sensor. There are so many other upgrades that could be made that have nothing to do with megapixel numbers. Below are a few straight out of my dream list that likely would be pretty difficult to make work.

Portable Power for All Your Devices: We Review the Anker PowerHouse II 300

If you are someone who spends many hours or even days away from a power source, you know how difficult it can be to keep all your devices properly topped off. With a huge battery and a variety of smart features, the Anker PowerHouse II 300 seeks to remedy that conundrum. In this review, we take a look at the PowerHouse and how it performs.

Into the Belly of the Beast: Rob Norton's Gorgeous Documentary on Australian Photographer Markus Andersen Will Bring out the Street Photographer in You

Rob Norton crafted a compelling short film that allows the viewer inside street photographer Markus Andersen's art. Through Markus’ narration, behind the scenes glimpses, and many stunning examples of Andersen’s photographs, Norton added the perfect music and edited together a clever and engaging sequence that showcases the creativity and passion of a genre of photography that often gets sullied by today’s accessibility to modern technology.
No Joke: Magic Lantern Gets Raw Video Out Of The Canon 5D Mark III

Excuse me while I pick up the brain fragments scattered across my office. In the last few months, there have posts and chatter about raw video recording being enabled in Canon's popular DSLR through new developments in Magic Lantern's firmware. It appeared to be only useful in bursts of less than a second, but now news is coming out now that they have unlocked the ability to record, without issue, continuous raw video at 24fps.

Model Posing Cliches: Stale or Useful? Improve Your Model Photography With Tried and True Poses

Some model poses seem to pop up everywhere repeating across different mediums and across decades. Many photographers deride these posing cliches, but these cliches can be useful on fashion and other model shoots, especially when working with new models still learning how to move. They can help create serviceable images when you are stuck for ideas or when you need shoot a series of good looks in a short period of time.

Peter Hurley Explains How the Inverse Square Law Applies to Photography

The inverse square law is one of the most important yet misunderstood concepts in photography. On the surface, it basically says that the intensity of a light source will decrease as you move the light away from your subject, but how does that apply to the highlights and shadows in a portrait? In this small excerpt from the "Illuminating the Face" tutorial, Peter Hurley breaks down both the math and the practical application of the inverse square law.

Phase One Takes On the Future of Photography with Cutting-Edge XF Camera System

A major announcement by Phase One has introduced an entire system of state-of-the-art products to their lineup. The all-new, highly anticipated Phase One XF camera body has arrived, along with new IQ3 digital backs, new Schneider Kreuznach 35mm f/3.5 and 120mm f/4 leaf shutter lenses, and an updated Capture One 8.3. This fully modular platform brings advancements in autofocus, power sharing digital backs, highly customizable user interfaces, and much more.

Why I’m Never Taking a Tripod on Vacation Again

I’m never taking a tripod on vacation again. Last year I took a lightweight compact travel tripod to Japan but never used it once. This was because shooting long exposures on the OM System OM-1 was a breeze. The camera boasts incredible 7 stops of image stabilization, increasing to 8 stops with compatible lenses.

Vaper: A Photo Documentary of Vaping Culture

Vaping is a phenomenon that has swept across America and much of the First World, mostly as a safer alternative to cigarettes. The culture, however, is what has caught the attention of the media worldwide. Smoke tricks have likely been around for as long as humans have been inhaling smoke, but vaping has spawned something quite interesting out of it: smoke tricks and ridiculous plumes of vapor spilling out of people’s nostrils. Photographer Louis Amore (whom we featured last year with his portrait series of English veterans) went to a local vapor shop, Prohibition Vapes, to document a vaping competition.

The Great Tragedy of Photography and Social Media

Photography has always existed in multiple spheres - as an artistic medium, a vehicle for documenting history, a channel for self-expression, a tool for surveillance, and a form of casual communication. With the meteoric rise of social media in the 21st century, however, the ways in which photos are produced, consumed, and understood have profoundly changed. While social media offers photographers unparalleled opportunities for visibility, it has also homogenized photographic styles, marginalized minority voices, and constrained creative freedom.

How to Kick Back and Completely Edit your Photos in Lightroom with an Xbox Controller

I am always on the search for how to make my editing more productive, because honestly, it isn't my favorite part of being a photographer. We have posted in the past about culling your images using a game-pad. However by adding VSCO Keys to your workflow you can map almost any Lightroom slider on your remote. I have included program links and configuration files for an easy setup with an Xbox Remote.

Get Ready For The Winter With These Must Have Items

The winter is coming. Actually, it's already here. Temperatures are dropping quickly and snow is falling, but we need to keep shooting and working. Here are few small (and cheap*) items that can help you survive the winter as a photographer, make your life easier and make the winter less annoying.

10 of the Weirdest Cameras Ever Made

The history of camera gear is rich, storied, and well, weird. Camera design has evolved in many different directions over time, sometimes in magnificent arcs of ingenuity and design, others in pit stops of absurd creativity or questionable judgment. Today, we're celebrating some of the strangest stops along that journey.

How to Upload Directly to Instagram From Lightroom With a Few Clicks Using This Free Plugin

Sharing your images on the web from point A to point B, in this case, from your desktop to Instagram, can be quite a hassle. You have to make a separate folder in your Dropbox, email it, or send it to yourself (there are a variety of ways), and clog up a bunch of storage on your phone. Yes, I know there several back door methods that have been discussed prior on this issue, and while Instagram has not yet made a plunge into the desktop world, we'll have to make do until then. But in the mean time, I came across this super user-friendly, free Lightroom plug-in that solidifies a solution!

Pentax Releases Sample Images From the New K-1

Pentax recently announced their long-anticipated entry into the full-frame market, the K-1. Coupled with a slew of interesting and useful features, the camera looks to be a serious contender for those who demand the utmost capability from their gear and like to explore different photographic genres. Pentax has now released sample images from the new camera, including one that shows off its pixel-shifting technology.